thepimp007 wrote:
Interesting comments from Sam is that. Got to admit when him and Eastmond were paired together as young kids they frightened the Aussies 10 fold and we thought we had a pairing for years to come. I was a very big advocate of what Sam actually produced down under, his time has been wrongly in my opinion scrutinised by idiot fans who dont warch rugby but hate wigan, and really feel a team as unpredictable as the Warriors were the worst option for him given their lack of structure.
What I am getting at is trying to say this isn't a trolling attempt with what I am about to say next, when he came back from injury in the games I saw he seemed to take a long while to have any contact in the tackle (obviously coming back from an injury there were rumours would end his career won't help), but is that an attempt to keep himself out of the firing line knowing you have wingers who work so hard for the team he can drop the ball onto?
Assuming you are referring to kick returns, he was already doing that before he went to NZ. I think it's probably because:
A - Given his size, he is less likely to win the collision and get a quick PTB to start the set off well
B - In that situation, the opposition know he won't pass, and there won't be gaps for him to step through, so they basically get a free shot at one our best players if he returns the ball. If they give a penalty away, who cares? It's deep in our half, worth it to intimidate him.
I get why it annoys people, but I think it's the right call, use players to their strengths.
